dimland radio 3-15-14 show notes

I Was Wrong...Again

I must be slipping. I was wrong about something on last week's show. Actually, it's more like a moment of misspeaking. I mentioned the actor Dennis Farina was left off the Oscar in memoriam segment, only I called him Douglas. Whoops.

If You Had Known What Exactly?

Just what does this mean?

On my way from work the other night, I found myself behind a car sporting the above bumper sticker. I'm not sure what is meant by "this", but considering there is a Confederate flag involved my guess is that it's not very racially sensitive. I guess there are still people out there with their heads up their asses, eh?

First Kiss Among Actors, Models And Musicians

 

Have you seen the viral video for Wren Studio, a women's wear website, showing 20 strangers kissing for the first time? It is very sweet and touching, but then we found out the strangers are performers. They may have been strangers but they are accustomed to being in front of people and performing. So, it lost some of its appeal.

There are a couple videos out there that take up the same strangers theme. One is a hilarious parody called First Handjob and, as you probably guessed, it's NSFW, but it isn't pornographic. It is damn funny.

The other video really does have 20 strangers picked off the street and brought in to kiss in front of a camera. The video states these are real people, no actors or models (really they ain't models!), paid to kiss each other. There's no same sex coupling and there is a kind of creepy New Agey older fellow and they do all have British accents, so you have been warned.

Dimland Radio Science Hero: Craig Ferguson

A new science program is being produced for Science Channel. It's based on the wildly popular Facebook page 'I F'ing Love Science'. (Dang! This post isn't very safe for my son to read.) One of my man crushes, Craig Ferguson will be the executive producer of the show. For that he has been made a Dimland Radio Science hero. And so has Elise Andrew the biology student who created the pro-science Facebook page.

Dimland Radio Science Zero: Fox Affiliate KOKH-TV

As the yang to the yin, or vice versa, there is a science zero this week. Although they claimed it was operator error, Fox affiliate KOKH-TV in Oklahoma managed to cover up 15 seconds worth of the highly anticipated reboot of the science program 'Cosmos'. In the last few minutes of the show, just as host Neil deGrasse Tyson had the gall to suggest that humans evolved, the station inserted a promo for their news program set to follow the show, sparing their audience from being confused. "What? I thought God done it!"

If it was an error, its timing was pretty good. If it wasn't, what will they do when 'Cosmos' take a more direct look at evolution? 

The Yankee Skeptic 

I've done a couple guest blogging spots for the Yankee Skeptic blog. Last week I had written about how I got fooled by an internet April Fool's joke involving TV signals bouncing back from space and lost Doctor Who episodes. You can read about my gullibility here.

Speaking Of Cosmos...

IT IS AWESOME! WATCH IT!

A Drama Brought To You By The Internet

You know that the internet is a place where the trolls get a chance to be...well...trolls. It gets to be a jungle out on the information super something, I forget. Anyway, it can get so bad that sometimes innocent non-trolls can get jumped on for merely asking a question. I profiled one such incident. It involves feminism, rape threats and the patriarchy and an innocently asked question. It got out of hand rather quickly.

This link will show you what I mean. 

Movie Recommendation: None This Week Again

You are on your own. Again. I know, I'm sorry. I'll have one next week I promise.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus

First ad break bumpers: 'YYZ' by Rush & 'Crosseyed and Painless' by Talking Heads
Second ad break bumpers: 'Good Thing' by The Woodentops & 'Face Dances Part 2' by Pete Townshend
Closing song: 'Angler's Treble Hook' by $5 Fiddle

That's it! See you next Saturday night for Dimland Radio 11 Central, midnight Eastern on www.ztalkradio.com you can also download my show from the z talk show archives page. You can email your questions and comments to drdim@dimland.com

You can also go to my CafePress store and buy stuff with my artwork on it and have me do a portrait for you if you like. Find out more here and here.

dimland radio 4-2-11 show notes

Living In Interesting Times

A little talk on the work situation and how it's been really stressful. It just seems as though the stuff is piling up sky high. But I still have a job (for now).

$280.00!

That new (new to us, it's a 2001) car just cost us about $280 dollars. Headlights needed adjusting, some light bulbs needed replacing, the rear window wiper needed attention. And an extra key that cost us $60 but it shouldn't have. Oh, well, you can't take it with you. Especially if you don't have it to begin with.

JREF's 2011 Pigasus Awards

When pigs fly!

Each year the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) awards people and organizations that promote pseudoscience, superstition, you know, woo. Click here to see this year's "winners".

It's Not True: Celebrities Die In 3s

Elizabeth Taylor, she was a hottie back in the day.

What constitutes a celebrity? How much time has to pass between deaths before you stop counting to three? So in March, we lost Elizabeth Taylor and Geraldine Ferraro. That's two, who's number three? I give a few suggestions.

Check out this site dealing with celebrity deaths.

iRenew Bracelets, Power Balance Bands, Placebo Bands: One Isn't BS

An honest product at a modest price.

The one that isn't BS is the Placebo Band. The other two claim to improve your balance, health, energy, etc. At best, what they provide is the placebo effect. The hucksters of these bands (excluding the honestly named and marketed Placebo Band) use tricks to convince you that the items work.

To see the tricks click here and here. To get your Placebo Band, which is much more affordable then the Power Balance bands ($60.00 Australian) or the iRenew bracelets (2 for $19.99 US) it will run you $2.00 (Australian).

Craig Ferguson Passes Off An Urban Legend As A True Story

Craig, how could you?

I wrote about this here and finally talked about it on the show.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ahead' by Wire
First ad break bumpers: 'Surfers Are Back' by The Barracudas & 'Love Is For Lovers' by The dB's
Second ad break bumpers: 'Lay All Your Love On Me' by Abba & 'Say Goodbye' by Hunters & Collectors
Closing song: 'Angler's Treble Hook' by $5 Fiddle

That's it! see you next Saturday night for Dimland Radio 11 Central, midnight Eastern on www.ztalkradio.com you can also download my show from the z talk show archives page. You can email your questions and comments to drdim@dimland.com

craig ferguson doesn't have a band... that's awsome

When did the bands on the late night talk shows become so domineering? I’m old enough to remember Johnny Carson and I remember that he had a great band, but the band did not dominate the show the way today’s late show bands tend to do. Johnny’s band played the intro, the cuts to commercial, the guest entrances and the end of the show. Yes, they had a bit more involvement than that. “Is Doc here?” “Doc’s not here.” Johnny would poke fun at whatever Doc Severinsen was wearing or how dull Tommy Newsom could be. There was the ‘stump the band’ bit and the occasional rim shots, but the band fit right in its place.

For some time now,however, the bands have been becoming bigger and bigger and more intrusive. I don’t know exactly where to put the blame. Was it Letterman’s or Leno’s fault?

When David Letterman started NBC’s ‘Late Night’, he had the very talented and funny Paul Shaffer and what would later become ‘The World’s Most Dangerous Band’. At first, as I recall, Paul and the band had about the same involvement as Johnny Carson’s band. Soon, it was discovered the Paul Shaffer was funny and worked well with Dave and the band took on a little more significance. Still the band did not take over the show. It was a very good four piece band that entertained the audience during the breaks and Paul would get some laughs.

Then, Jay Leno took over the ‘Tonight Show’ and things started to change. Johnny’s band was pretty sizable and so was Jay’s. Leno’s first bandleader was Branford Marsalis. Marsalis left after two or three years because he didn’t have much of a sense of humor (that’s just a guess on my part) and Kevin Eubanks took over. Kevin is good, but not nearly as funny as Paul Shaffer. (None of the late night bandleaders are.)

Letterman left NBC and started up the ‘Late Show’. That’s when Dave’s band got much bigger to match the ‘Tonight Show’. Leno had a gal who started singing during the breaks, so Letterman got one, too. The bands started getting louder and more showy.

Conan O’Brien now helmed ‘Late Night’ and he had the Max Weinberg 7. Another good band, but Max Weinberg was really no Paul Shaffer. Max just isn’t funny. I do like the ‘In the year 2000’ bits, which utilize one of the band members. The main problem with O’Brien’s band is the brashy loudness of it. Just listen to how they play on Conan’s entrances now that he has the ‘Tonight Show’. The squealing trumpet is enough to give me a headache. Squeeeeeal! Squeeeeeal! Squeeeeeal! Isn’t it exciting?! No! It’s just loud.

Now Jimmy Fallon is hosting ‘Late Night’. And his band is an already established band from Philadelphia called The Roots. They’re also a good band and Fallon really uses them a lot. He is new to the format so they’re working on it. But every night Jimmy yells for me to “give it up for The Roots!” Well, I don’t want give it up for The Roots and why are you yelling so much, Jimmy. Seriously, every time he introduces a guest it’s as if he’s giving the “Live, from New York, it’s Saturday Night!” yell.

Jimmy Kimmel has a late night talk show. The show has a band, but I never watch much of the show so I really can’t say anything. So, I won’t.

Maybe I’m just being a traditionalist crank here, but I liked the way Johnny’s and Dave’s bands used to be. There’s just something annoying about the shows coming back from commercial break and seeing one of the band members singing. It just bugs me.

On the other hand, CBS’s the ‘Late, Late Show’ with Craig Ferguson doesn’t have a band. It doesn’t need one. Craig frequently complains about not having a band, but I disagree. He is probably the only late night talk show host today who can do an hour long show without a band or a sidekick. He could almost do the show without guests.

I hope Craig Ferguson never does get a band. It would diminish the show. As my wife said when I remarked that Craig doesn’t have a band, “That’s awesome.” It is awesome. Please, CBS, no band for Craig.